


Free Spirit

by streetlights



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Gen, Moving On, POV Second Person, Remix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-13
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-19 06:12:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1458907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/streetlights/pseuds/streetlights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He never looked back. You remember, because you counted every step. </p><p>Remix of <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/1024573">Only As Good As Yesterday</a>, though this can act as a standalone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Free Spirit

You never pegged him as the adventurer type. He always seemed like someone who would rather stay in his comfort zone. He is Shibuya born and raised, after all. You are confident, almost, that there’s nothing the world can offer that he can’t have in Shibuya.  
  
But then, you didn’t really know him that well in the first place. It would be a lie to say you did.

 

 

You don’t remember why you started fighting. Just that you did.  
  
You remember the lack of anger though. The weary eyes. The tired smile.

His voice still rings in the empty room. _It’s not like my art matters here,_ he whispers. _Not yet, at least._

You bristle, shaking off the anger seeping into your veins. After all, you are much more mature than that.

_Every little thing matters, Neku._

Every. Little. Thing.

 

 

On his last day, there is a trembling excitement beating in his heart. He is ready to _run_ , to carve his mark in a world that's more than _just_ Shibuya.

There is no goodbye.

It is an afterthought, but you wonder if this means he’ll return.

 

 

When he leaves, you are left to pick up the pieces. On your more selfish days, you deem him as a failed project.

But Sanae knows better.

 _He's a free spirit in the making_ , he says. _Shibuya was just the catalyst._

You breathe in the city he loves, the city  _you_ love. The cacophonous mess of creativity and life. This is the boy’s catalyst; the fate you so willingly chained yourself to. The regret you feel is fleeting and weak, and you want nothing more than to keep the miserable anger that falls straight through your hands. You have never wished to feel any more childish than now.

 _How envious_ , you reply, half-hearted and wistful.

There is fondness and pride in your voice. If Sanae ever observed it, he chooses to say nothing.

 

 

The world moves on, and he along with it.

You know he’s looking for something - something like heaven. But Shibuya is alive and free; this place needs no heaven.

You wonder what he is looking for.

 

 

He never looked back.

You remember, because you counted every step and memorized every single detail of that day. Every. Little. Thing.

He may never come back.

Even so, you continue to wait, anticipating the day he'll show you his bright new world. Shibuya is his home, after all.

 

 

When the city hums itself to sleep, you listen for him.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate interpretation of events. In which Joshua is more accommodating to the idea of Neku leaving Shibuya.
> 
> This was the first draft I wrote, but I lost it completely so I had to rewrite everything in the first piece. I found my draft again and liked this version of Joshua better (although I like the writing in the first piece better). So I decided to post this as a remix. This Joshua is more mature and positive, don't you think? He's more wistful, but less selfish and regretful. There's a more hopeful tone here, which was what I was trying to go for previously.


End file.
